Abstract:
In order to understand how the West Antarctic Ice Sheet may respond to global climate change in the future, its current nature and how it has responded to climate change in the past has been investigated. More specifically, a modelling study was undertaken to assess the response of the Darwin-Hatherton Glacier to the retreat of the Ross Ice Sheet grounding line (Anderson et al., 2004). Some of the ... parameters used in the modelling for this study were based on limited field data and glaciological theories rather than well defined measurements due to lack of available data. A wider research program was therefore undertaken here, researching a number of different aspects of the Darwin Hatherton area in order to better constrain glaciological parameters. These parameters can then be used in numerical models to produce data with a higher certainty than previous research. An automatic weather station was installed on the Darwin Glacier (November 2006) and rock samples were collected for cosmogenic dating from two sites. Images from the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) sensor were used. To determine the surface velocity of the glacier system, a feature tracking technique was applied to the ASTER satellite images. When the velocity field was established, it was added as one of the components in refining Anderson et al's (2004) glacial model for outlet glaciers.